Simon Yates wins the Giro: The crazy fateful stage is followed by the fairytale finale

What a triumph: Simon Yates wins the Giro d'Italia. The Briton takes the pink jersey after a crazy stage just before the finale – and Yates finally overcomes trauma.

Simon Yates enjoyed his triumphant ride to the fullest, enjoying a glass of champagne with his teammates on the bike. The Briton overcame his 2018 trauma and won the Giro d'Italia for the first time. As the wearer of the pink jersey, Yates was traditionally not attacked during the final stage. Before even getting on the bike, he and all the other Giro starters had been granted an audience with Pope Leo XIV.

"I'm slowly realizing more and more what a great moment this is in my career. I'm incredibly proud; it's been a fantastic three weeks," said Yates after crossing the finish line in Rome. The stage victory going to Dutchman Olav Kooij was the crowning achievement for Team Visma-Lease a Bike. It was the crowning achievement of Yates' career, after he had spectacularly clinched the title on Saturday.

He had to wait seven long years, but then the tears of disappointment finally gave way to tears of joy. "I'm speechless that I've done it," Yates said after the penultimate stage in the Alps. On his destiny mountain, Colle delle Finestre, the site of his worst defeat, he laid the foundation for his greatest success. "It's a bit like a fairytale," Yates said.

It had been an epic spectacle on the decisive Giro stage. With Yates, the down-to-earth 32-year-old, in the lead role, he finally wrested the leader's jersey from youngster Isaac Del Toro (21/UAE Emirates-XRG). Yates started the 20th stage 81 seconds behind Del Toro in the general classification and finished with a lead of 3:56 minutes.

"I already had this stage in mind at the Giro presentation," Yates explained. "I wanted to try something here and close the chapter from back then." Back then, in 2018, Yates had led the 19th stage after a great Giro – but then Chris Froome attacked at that very same Finestre with around 80 km to go – and Yates? He completely collapsed. With his "solo of the century," Froome laid the foundation for his Giro victory; Yates lost almost 39 minutes and ultimately finished 21st overall.

A trauma that lingered until May 31, 2025. Even though Yates has celebrated great successes since then. In the same year of his Giro défense, he triumphed at the Tour of Spain, won two stages at the Tour de France, and the climbing expert has also repeatedly caused a sensation in smaller races.

But he saved his masterpiece for Saturday. A tactical masterpiece he had devised together with his team. At the Finestre, with just under 40 km to go, he attacked Del Toro and fellow competitor Richard Carapaz and quickly built a small lead. He then let his teammate Wout van Aert, who had been placed in an early breakaway group for this purpose, pull him along. Because Carapaz and Del Toro couldn't agree on a common approach, the lead grew minute by minute, culminating in a major victory that Yates only had to consolidate on Sunday.